This invention relates to the field of infant incubators and, specifically, to an improved incubator having a unique hood design with an access door for obtaining convenient access to the infant while minimizing disruption to the heated environment in which the infant is located.
Incubator hoods, in general, form the enclosure about an infant and contain within, the unique environment which the infant requires. Since that environment is a heated and humidified atmosphere, it is important that heat be efficiently transmitted to the internal infant compartment and be easily regulated to be maintained within rather precise limits. Additionally the incubator hood must provide ease of access to the infant so that attending personnel can readily reach the infant without a great deal of difficulty and, optimally, without causing great changes to that internal controlled environment.
Typical of some incubators, is the double hood design where the hood itself is made up of two transparent walls that are designed to lie adjacent one another and which thereby form a passageway within the hood through which heated air can pass. One of such hoods is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,913 of Maluta et al. The double hood provides heat retention and controlability and its advantages are amply set forth in the aforedescribed patent.
The hood design of Maluta et al. is, however, fairly complex in its design and manufacture and a large opening is needed for access to the infant. One solution to the problem of heat loss when any opening is affected to reach the infant has been proposed by the formation of an air curtain that flows heated air generally across the open area. An example of such means is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,137 of Grosholz and which shows an access door that, when opened, causes a normally closed passageway to open to emit warm air across the door area. In Grosholz, however, a mechanism is employed to open and close that passageway with the access door. In addition, the flow of warmed air of Grosholz passes laterally from end to end about the infant compartment and about the infant. Its normal flow path is therefore abnormal to the flow path needed to form the air curtain.